Collection 4: Heroes and Villains eps 11 till 16
by LatiosFan
Summary: Episodes 11-16 in my series of episodes where Ash and Angie travel together through the Pokémon world, now combined in a separate story. MorpheusShipping but also for other Pokémon fans. Ash and Angie are heading for Saffron City but will they get there?
1. Chapter 1

Episode 11, Saved by the Bulbasaur! 

Episode 11 in my Fan Fiction series about the Pokémon journey of Ash and Angie. Involves some MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) and even some RocketShipping (Jessie x James) so if you don't like that idea, stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.

This morning, Ash and his friends had left early, to travel along Route 8, leading to Saffron City. Ash wanted to challenge the Saffron City Gym. After walking for about an hour, everyone agreed it was time for a break.

"Hey Ash. How about a little training between one of your Pokémon and my Bulbasaur?" Angie asked.

"Okay. I'll choose Grotle then. That way our Pokémon can't get really hurt as they are both Grass-types." Ash answered.

"Sounds good to me, let's go!" Angie said.

Although this was a friendly battle, Angie looked full of fighting spirit and so was Ash. Even though they were more than friends now, when it came to battles, their rivalry was still as fierce as ever.

"Bulbasaur, come out!" Angie said as she made her new friend appear.

"Grotle, time for action!" Ash reacted. "Since you have just met Bulbasaur, we'll let you go first."

"Okay, but don't expect us to hold back," Angie warned Ash.

"Neither will we," Ash replied.

"Bulbasaur, do Razor Leaf!" Angie commanded.

"Withdraw!" was Ash's reaction.

The sharp leaves that Angie's Bulbasaur sent towards Grotle bounced off on it's large shield, not even scratching it.

"Is that the best you can do?" Ash asked, mocking her. "Now it's our turn, Grotle, do Bite!"

"Bulbasaur, use your Vine Whip to lift Grotle up in the air," was Angie's response to this.

Although Bulbasaur was no large Pokémon, it was very strong, and lifted the much larger Grotle up with relative ease.

"Throw Grotle to the ground!" Angie shouted.

The large Pokémon hit the ground with a mighty crash, but managed to get up again. Ash was worried about Grotle for a moment, but he quickly saw that Grotle still looked fit to fight.

"Bulbasaur, do that same move again!" Angie commanded.

"This time we will be prepared," Ash said, as Grotle was again lifted in the air. "Do Energy Ball!"

Bulbasaur had no chance to defend itself against this attack, and was blown away a few meters as the powerful Energy Ball hit it. Grotle was freed from the grasp of Bulbasaur's Vine Whip, and landed on the ground, on it's feet. Bulbasaur was able to get on it's feet again, but looked a bit affected by that last attack.

"Bulbasaur, return!" Angie said, as she opened it's Poké Ball.

"Good call, Angie, better luck next time," Ash said.

"I see that we need some more training," Angie said a little disappointed.

"Yeah, don't forget you only have Bulbasaur less than a day. And the way you used that Vine Whip on Grotle was a nice touch," Ash tried to cheer her up a little.

"Thanks! And I guess you're right. It takes time to get stronger," Angie admitted.

"Shall we move on guys?" Tracey asked.

"Right! Grotle, come back!" Ash said.

So they moved on, with Pikachu and Shinx running ahead a little of them. Angie was just about to warn the two playful Pokémon, not to stray ahead too much, when a big hand came from the side of the path, grabbing both Pokémon.

"Hey, what is the meaning of this?" Ash yelled.

"Yeah, let my Shinx go!" Angie added.

Then they heard two familiar voices.

"To protect the world from devastation," Jessie said.

"To unite all peoples within our nation", James continued.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love," Jessie spoke again.

"To extend our reach to the stars above," James added

"Jessie," Jessie introduced herself.

"Jessie..." James repeated..

"No James, that's not your line!" Jessie said, a bit irritated.

"I know Jessie, but I just realized what a beautiful voice you have. When you say your lines, it is so full of passion, so strong," James explained why he stopped saying their motto.

"Oh, do you really think so James? Thank you," Jessie said, at a much more friendly tone than usual as she looked at her partner with a bit dreamy eyes, "You know how to make a woman feel appreciated."

"Can someone give me a bucket please?" Meowth said. "We're here to steal Pikachu, remember that?!"

"That's right!" Jessie and James said at the same time.

"Hey, now you're stealing my line!" Meowth said, panicking a little.

"Sorry, Meowth," his partners apologized.

"Can we finish our motto now?" Meowth said, annoyed.

"Okay, yes...errrm.. Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light," Jessie continued

"Surrender now or prepare to fight," James said.

"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth concluded the motto, while at the same time using it's claws to cut loose the belt Ash had around his waist, holding his Poké Balls.

"Hey, my Pokémon!" Ash yelled.

"Yeah, we did some analyzing about what keeps going wrong when we try to steal Pikachu. And we came up with one thing. As long as you have some Pokémon at your disposal, we end up blasting away. So we decided to steal all your Pokémon at once, and since that sketching-twerp has no Pokémon at all, and we now even have that Shinx of your girlfriend, there is nothing you can do to stop us," Meowth finished his long explanation.

"Precisely," James agreed.

"So, say goodbye to Pikachu," Jessie said, as she sticked out her tongue at Ash and his friends.

Ash clenched his fists in anger, since he was powerless to do something. Then Angie put her hand on his arm, and turned Ash around so he faced her. She winked at him, as she showed him her Poké Ball with... Bulbasaur!

"Ooooh...Team Rocket?" Angie asked.

"Now what!" Jessie said, "Can't you see we're gloating over stealing your Pokémon?!"

"Well, it seems like you forgot one," Angie said.

"We.....forgot one? But that's impossible!" James said, while counting all the Poké Balls.

"Bulbasaur, do Razor Leaf!" Angie shouted.

"B...Bulbasaur?" Jessie asked.

A stream of sharp leaves hit Jessie, James and Meowth, causing the last one to drop the remote control that he had used to operate the mechanical claws that grabbed Pikachu and Shinx. Ash raced forward to get it, but found Jessie's Seviper blocking his path.

"Bulbasaur, do Vine Whip on Seviper!" Angie commanded, coming to his aid.

"Thanks, Ange!" Ash said, as he could now grab the remote control, and freed Pikachu and Shinx.

"Oh no!" Jessie and James yelled.

"Pikachu, do Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Shinx, help Pikachu and do Spark!" Angie added.

The combined attacks caused a big explosion, sending the three villains flying upwards at great speed.

"Some fine plan, Meowth!" Jessie said at an angry tone.

"Hey, don't look at me!" Meowth said, "How was I to know that girl caught a new Pokémon?"

"Anyway, looks like we're blasting off again...." James added.

"Meowwwwth!"

"So, they will think twice before they come back, I guess," Angie said.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Ash remarked, "they don't give up that easily."

"Well, we're ready for them, right Bulbasaur?" Angie said as she caressed her Pokémon to praise it for it's hard work.

"Yeah, you were great, Bulbasaur!" Ash also praised it.

Ash gathered his Poké Balls, and they continued their journey, heading for Saffron City, where Ash was hoping to get his second badge. But that would have to wait till tomorrow...

My 14th fan-fiction story. I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences, as I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokemon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, please use the review function of

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.


	2. Chapter 2

Episode 12, On a Vine and a Prayer

Episode 12 in my Fan Fiction series about the Pokémon journey of Ash and Angie. Involves some MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you don't like that idea, stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.

"Saffron City! We're there at last!" Ash said as they passed the sign with the city's name on it.

"Let me guess, you will want to head straight for the gym," Angie laughed.

"Well, it's been a while since my last badge, and we have been training hard enough for it," Ash replied, confirming her guess, "and if I am not mistaken, it will be just around this co..."

"What is it?" Angie asked, since Ash didn't finish his sentence.

Ash pointed in the direction of the Saffron City Gym, where a giant billboard had been stuck to the wall. "Gym closed for extensive repairs" it read.

"Oh Ash," Angie said as she noticed his disappointment.

"Just my luck," Ash started complaining. "Just like in Sinnoh, or the Gym Leader is out, training on a distant place, or there is some festival that they have to attend first, and now this!"

"Let's get closer, maybe there is some more information on the sign, such as when the gym will be open again," Tracey suggested.

So they did, and learned that it would take at least a week before the gym was expected to be open again.

"I can't wait that long," Ash complained.

Although he had grown somewhat calmer over the last year, and especially the last few weeks, because Angie was there to help him stay on track and improve his focus, Ash couldn't help himself feeling rather disappointed about having to skip this gym for now.

"Let's take a look on the map, maybe there is another city with a gym close enough for us to go there, so you can have a gym battle there?" Angie proposed, trying to cheer up Ash. "Does this City have a gym?" Angie asked , pointing at the red dot, east of Saffron City.

"That's Celadon City," Tracey explained, "and there is a Gym there, right Ash?"

"Yeah, I remember it all to well," Ash said, as his eyes began sparkling again.

"And it doesn't seem to be too far away from here as well," Angie encouraged him, glad to see Ash revived.

"I did get my Rainbow Badge there, but I got it because I helped to prevent Team Rocket from stealing the secret formula of the perfume they produce at that gym. So it would be nice to re-challenge Erika, and this time earn that badge by winning a gym battle." Ash explained, now completely motivated again.

"Okay, Celadon City, here we come!" Angie said.

They visited the local Poké Mart first, to stock up a little, and then took Route 16, which was leading directly to Celadon City. After about an hour they noticed an open spot in the lines of trees that were on both sides of the road. There also was a small path, possibly leading towards the shore.

"I've never noticed that before," Ash wondered.

"Well, the last time you were here, you were probably only thinking about your next gym battle," Angie teased him.

"I suppose..." Ash said, as at the moment he didn't know anything witty to say to counter Angie's remark.

"Shall we go see where it leads then?" Tracey suggested.

"You're not going anywhere!" a catlike voice behind them shouted.

Ash, Angie and Tracey turned around, and there was Team Rocket.

"Prepare for trouble!" they heard Jessie say.

"And make it double," James added.

"To protect the world from devastation," Jessie said.

"To unite all peoples within our nation", James continued.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love," Jessie spoke again.

"To extend our reach to the stars above," James added.

"Jessie!" Jessie introduced herself. "And don't mess it up with your lines like you did last time, James!" she yelled.

"No dear...," he whispered, and then said "and James!" out loud.

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light," Jessie continued.

"Surrender now or prepare to fight," James said.

"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth concluded the motto.

"I told you they would be back again," Ash said to Angie.

"Yeah, I'm beginning to see they're not so bright, trying to steal our Pokémon again," Angie said.

"Since the strategy we used at our last encounter didn't quite work out, despite someone saying it was infallible," Jessie said as she looked at Meowth with an accusing look, "we will no go for a more direct approach..."

"Hand over Pikachu!" James shouted.

"Or else...." Meowth threatened.

"You've got to be kidding," Ash said, "you'll never get Pikachu!"

"Okay Meowth, it's time for plan B," Jessie remarked.

Meowth took a small remote control with just one button, and pressed it. A giant robot appeared, scooped up Team Rocket with it's hand, and placed them in the control room of the robot.

"Pikachu, do Thunderbolt!" Ash said.

"Chuuuuuu!", Pikachu said as he sent a vicious thunderbolt at the robot, but with no effect at all!

"Hahahahaha!" Meowth laughed, "this robot is insulated and is able to fully withstand the electricity of a single Pikachu. So keep trying, but it won't help you."

"A single Pikachu?" Ash said at an asking tone.

"That's right!" Meowth answered.

"Angie, are you thinking what I am thinking?" Ash said, as he winked at her.

"Right Ash, I hear you," she said, winking back at him.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt one more time!" Ash commanded.

"Shinx, do Spark at the same time as Pikachu!" Angie said.

Both electrical Pokémon unleashed their power on Team Rocket's robot, making it shiver, with sparks flying off everywhere.

"Eh....James..is smoke supposed to come out of these control panels?" Jessie asked.

"I don't know. Ask Meowth. He is the one who got us this robot." James said, looking quite worried.

"Well, you guys told me to get a robot that could withstand the attacks of a Pikachu and so I did. Not one that has double insulation so it can take electricity from more electrical Pokémon," Meowth explained.

"But that means that we... " Jessie said with fear in her voice.

"....are blasting off again." James finished her sentence, as the robot exploded, sending them up high in the air.

No longer being stalled by Team Rocket, Ash and his friends decided to check out the small path they had discovered earlier. It was a curvy path, gradually sloping upwards. After a few minutes walking they could hear the sound of Wingulls. The sound got louder, and a little further they could see the sea. The path had led them up to some cliffs, high above the waves that were crushing down on the rocks, way below.

"What a beautiful sight," Tracey remarked, and Ash and Angie nodded.

"I never knew this road was so close to the shore," Ash remarked.

"I think the trees muffle the sound of the waves and the Wingulls, so you don't hear it, until you get really close, like we are now," Angie explained.

"I have to make some sketches of this!" Tracey said, full of enthusiasm.

He grabbed his sketchbook, and wanted to get his case with pencils, but it wasn't there. He looked a bit harder, taking everything out off his backpack, but it was nowhere to be found. The pencils were simply gone.

"What is wrong, Tracey?" Ash said as he noticed his friend started to look a bit worried.

"I can't seem to find my case with my pencils," Tracey explained.

"Maybe it fell out of your backpack during our little encounter with Team Rocket?" Angie said.

"Yeah, that must be it," Tracey agreed, "I held it in my hands before they arrived, since I was about to draw something back then. I must have dropped it as I tried to quickly put it back in my backpack, at the start of your battle with Team Rocket. You two wait here, I'll run back and get it."

So Tracey ran off as fast as he could, back to where he would most likely have dropped his case with pencils. Angie sat down on a boulder, a few meters from the edge of the cliff. Ash was glad to have a moment alone with Angie, he wanted to talk with her about that special kiss she gave him in the Pokémon Center of Lavender Town, although he was also a bit nervous about bringing that up. So instead of sitting down next to her, he walked along the edge.

"Ash, don't stand so close to the edge. You're giving me the creeps! Next moment you'll trip and fall and then it's a long way down, remember?" Angie warned him.

"Aw...mum..." Ash said, teasing her.

"Just be careful, okay?" Angie continued, with a more caring voice.

"I will, Ange," Ash reassured her.

But what Ash didn't know was that the edge of the cliff was somewhat weathered, and various small cracks had formed in the rock, making it less solid than it appeared. Ash turned around, to change direction, and then...

"Angie!" Ash yelled, as the rock gave way under him.

"Ash!!!" Angie cried as she saw him disappear over the ledge!

She jumped up and ran to where Ash had been standing, expecting to see him lying on the rocks below. Her heart pounded at the thought of that sight. She reluctantly gazed over the edge... and saw... Ash. But he was not lying down on the rocks, but holding on to a small ledge, just half a meter below the top, clinging to that ledge with all his force!

"Oh Ash, you're okay," Angie sighed in relief.

"I'm losing my grip, Ange, help me," Ash said, almost whispering, to save his strength.

"Grab my hand!" she yelled, as she carefully leaned over the edge.

Ash reached out with his other hand to Angie's, closer..., still a little closer..., and then he got it! Pikachu and Shinx were holding Angie, and were trying to help her get Ash back up. But instead of pulling him up, they were slowly sliding closer to the edge.

"Let me go, Ange!" Ash said, "I don't want to pull you in as well."

"No way! You also didn't let go when I was about to get sucked into that Spirit World," Angie firmly replied.

But despite her resoluteness, they were still losing ground, and it was clear that she could never get Ash back up alone.

"Tracey! Help!" Angie yelled, hoping their friend would hear her.

But Tracey had left about ten minutes ago, so he was still too far away, and the trees between him and Ash and Angie probably muffled her cries for help, just as it had done with the cries of the Wingull that were circling the sky. Then Angie got an idea.

"Pikachu, can you get Bulbasaur's Poké Ball and send him out?" Angie asked.

"Pikapi!" Ash's Pokémon confirmed.

Pikachu quickly got Bulbasaur's Poké Ball out of her backpack, and opened it.

"Nice job, Pikachu!" Angie complimented the little yellow Pokémon. "Now Bulbasaur, use your Vine Whip to grab hold of that tree over there and pull us up! Hurry!"

Bulbasaur moved fast, and grabbed a tree with one of it's vines, then carefully wound the other vine around Ash's waist. With the extra help of this strong Pokémon, Ash was slowly pulled up to safety.

"Thanks Bulbasaur, you deserve some extra poffins today," Angie praised her sturdy friend.

"Yeah, thanks a lot, I don't know what would have happened without your help," Ash added.

"And as for you, Ash Ketchum! Don't you ever scare me like that again, you hear me!!" Angie yelled in his face.

Ash was dazed by this sudden outburst, but before he could regain himself, Angie embraced him and squeezed him tightly with all her strength, then started crying softly, with her head on Ash's shoulder.

"It's okay Ange. I'm sorry I took so much risk," Ash whispered in her ear. "I promise I'll be more careful from now on. Please don't cry."

"I thought I'd lost you forever," she said, still sobbing a bit.

"You can't get rid off me that easily," Ash said, as he smiled at her.

They sat down on the boulder, and Ash gave Angie a tissue to wipe away her tears. The next moment Tracey came running down the path.

"I've found them!" he yelled, as he held his case with pencils high above his head. "Hey, what's wrong?" he added, as he noticed that Angie had been crying, and that her clothes and those of Ash were full of dust.

Ash explained what had happened and how Angie, with the help of Bulbasaur, had saved him. Then Tracey started making some sketches, while Angie and Ash sat down on the boulder, Ash's arm around Angie's waist, to assure her he wasn't going anywhere. After Tracey had finished drawing, they went back to the main road, to continue their journey to Celadon City. Ash stayed close to Angie, as she was still a bit shook up about almost losing him. It was clear that they wouldn't reach Celadon City today, so when they found a nice spot, the tents were put up, and Angie made dinner, Ash helping her this time, for a change. Bulbasaur got the extra poffins Angie had promised and then they went inside their tents, hoping to get a good night's sleep after all the excitement of today and to be ready for the adventures of tomorrow.

My 15th fan-fiction story. I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.


	3. Chapter 3

Episode 13, Smells Like Victory!

Episode 13 in my Fan Fiction series about the Pokémon journey of Ash and Angie. Involves some MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you don't like that idea, stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.

The sun was already at it's highest point as Ash and his friends reached the perimeter of Celadon City. It was a hot day, with virtually no breeze to cool things down a little. So everyone was glad they had arrived at their destination.

"Anyone who likes some ice cream?" Ash asked.

"Oh yes!" Angie puffed.

"Count me in too," Tracey answered.

They looked around, but only fashion boutiques, perfume shops and other non edible things. "Just like the last time," Ash thought." Back then it had also been very hard to find a shop that had something else but things to dress up people and Pokémon.

"Maybe we can get something refreshing in the Pokémon Center? Or they can tell us where we can find something," Tracey suggested.

"Good idea, Tracey," Ash replied.

The Pokémon Center was not so hard to find. After taking a fresh soda, Ash and Angie had their Pokémon checked out by Nurse Joy, while Tracey was busy making a phone call.

"Who are you calling Tracey?" Ash asked.

"The Pokémon Center in the Fight Area," he answered.

"Huh, why?" Ash said.

"I asked professor Oak to send my Pokémon there, so I could pick them up," Tracey explained, "but since we had to hurry to get on board of that boat, I forgot to pick them up. So now I've asked them to send my Pokémon here, so I can get them from this Poké Center.

"Great," Ash said, "It's always cool to have more Pokémon with us.

"Especially with Team Rocket and that Pokémon hunter about," Angie added.

"Special delivery for Tracey Sketchit, please report to the desk," they heard the voice of Nurse Joy calling on the loudspeakers.

Tracey received his Pokémon, and sent them out, to say hi to Ash, Angie, and their Pokémon. After this little introduction round, Tracey made them return to their Poké Balls.

"Now, shall we go to the gym?" Ash proposed, "my Pokémon are in perfect shape, and I feel like battling too."

"Awww," Angie sulked, "you promised me ice cream."

"I'll make you a deal," Ash suggested, "if I win I'll buy you one, okay?"

"And if you lose, you'll buy me two, right?" Angie teased him.

"Better make sure I don't lose then," Ash said, "otherwise you'll really get me broke."

"Which one do you prefer, broke... or broken?" she said while showing Ash her clenched fist.

"Hey Ash, Tracey, Angie! Joohoo! Over here!" they heard Misty yell.

"Misty, what are you doing here?" Ash asked, as they crossed the street.

"I felt like a little shopping," she explained, "and what better place to do this than here, right?"

Ash told Misty about their adventures since they left Cerulean City, and their little forced detour to Celadon City because of the temporary closure of the Saffron City Gym.

"Would you like to watch Ash's battle with us, Misty?" Tracey asked.

"Well, sounds like fun," Misty accepted the invitation.

Soon they saw the large greenhouse that was next to the gym. Ash knocked on the door of the gym, and it opened. It was Erika herself.

"Hey, Ash!" she said very surprised, "It's been a while since we saw you here. Did you come for some of our famous perfume?"

Ash wanted to say he still didn't like "that stuff" and it was bad because it made boys act strange, but he could control himself. The last time he spoke out his opinion on perfume, Erika had banned him from the gym, and he had to dress up as a girl to get into the gym again and challenge her. Besides, he did like some perfume now, since Angie sometimes used a little, and he loved the way she smelled at those moments.

"No, maybe later," he said tactically, "I've come to challenge you for a Gym Battle."

Erika was quite surprised that Ash wanted to challenge her, but when she heard his explanation, she accepted. They agreed on a double battle, so both trainers would use two Pokémon at the same time, and the first one to have no usable Pokémon left, would lose. Ash's friends, including Misty, sat down on the side of the arena. Ash noticed that Misty sat next to Tracey.

"Trainers ready?" the referee shouted. "Go!"

"I choose Weepinbell as my first Pokémon," Erika started, "and it won't surprise you that my Gloom is my second one."

"Fine, go Chimchar!" Ash said as he sent out his first Pokémon, "and for my second Pokémon... Pikachu."

"Weepinbell, do Razor Leaf on Pikachu!" Erika began, "and Gloom, do Mega Drain on Chimchar!"

"Chimchar, do Ember on that Razor Leaf to protect Pikachu," Ash quickly reacted, "and Pikachu, do Thunderbolt on Gloom!"

The Razor Leaf of Weepinbell was completely burned by Chimchar's Ember, and some of the fire even hit Weepinbell. Chimchar got hit by Gloom's Mega Drain, but before it could take real damage, Pikachu's Thunderbolt stopped the attack.

"Nice move Ash," Erika said, "your Pokémon work nicely together as a team. Now let's see what you can do against this. Weepinbell, do Vine Whip on Chimchar and Gloom, do Stun Spore!"

"Quick, Chimchar, do Flame Wheel on Gloom and Pikachu, do Volt Tackle on Weepinbell!" Ash countered Erika's new strategy.

Gloom was knocked out by Chimchar's strong fire-type attack, but managed to release some Stun Spore before it fainted, paralyzing Chimchar. Pikachu's Volt Tackle cut right through Weepinbell's Vine Whip, and Erika's Pokémon was hurled away a few meters backwards. But it managed to get up again.

"Finish it with Iron Tail, buddy!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu's tail landed right on Weepinbell's head, and that was all it took to knock it out too.

"Gloom and Weepinbell are no longer able to battle, so the challenger wins," the referee announced.

"Great battle, Ash!" Erika praised him, "your Pokémon can team up pretty well, but they are also very strong individually."

She handed him over the Rainbow badge, that Ash had officially earned this time. Ash did his usual victory pose, and Angie joined in with him, just like when Ash had won his first badge, in Cerulean City. They said goodbye to Erika, and were about to leave, as Erika called Ash back inside.

"I've got something else for you," she said to Ash.

"Huh, what is it then?" Ash asked, completely clueless.

"This is a bottle of our finest perfume," Erika said as she gave him a small box, in gift wrap, with a ribbon tied around it. "I know you won't use it for yourself, but I think you know that a certain girl you know, may appreciate it," and she winked at him.

"Gee, thanks Erika," Ash replied, "I think I know what you mean."

He quickly put the box away in his backpack, to save it for a fitting moment, and came outside again.

"What did Erika want?" Angie asked.

"Oh, nothing, I just gave her some trainer tips," Ash answered.

Angie looked at him like she didn't fully believe this explanation, but then she suddenly thought about something else.

"Misty, do you happen to know where we can find ice cream in this town?" Angie asked.

"Sure," Misty replied, "there's a salon just one block away from here. But who's buying then?"

"Well...." Angie said, "I may know someone..."

Angie gazed at Ash with large, begging eyes.

"Please, Ash..." she said, "you promised me..."

"Alright then," Ash gave in, "Misty, take us there, and... the ice creams are on me."

Angie gave him a big kiss on the cheek, and they went on to the ice cream salon that Misty had mentioned. The ice cream tasted delicious, especially on a hot day like this.

"Well Ash, congratulations on getting another badge," Misty toasted.

"Yeah, thanks," Ash said, "That makes two!" referring to this being his second badge since he revisited Kanto.

"Well done, Ash," Tracey said as he gave him a rather hard tap on the shoulder, startling Ash, causing his face to crash into his ice cream.

Ash looked around helplessly, as a small cherry slowly came drooping down from his forehead, over his nose. It was such a funny sight that everyone started to laugh. Then Angie began to feel sorry for him.

"Here, let me help you," and she wiped most of the ice cream of his face.

Ash still didn't look quite happy, as the remainders of his ice cream didn't look very tasty any more.

"You can have a few licks of my ice cream, if you like," Angie proposed, "I didn't eat from this side yet."

"Gee, thanks Ange," Ash said, as his face cleared up, and he took a few large bites of her ice cream.

"Hey! That's more than a few licks," she protested.

"Oops, sorry..." Ash apologized, "I guess all that battling has made me hungry."

Everyone started laughing again, but this time at the guilty face Ash was now drawing, as he apologized to Angie.

"It's okay, Ash," she said with a reassuring voice, "You just make it up to me another time, right?"

"Oh, I will," Ash said, with a mysterious look on his face.

After finishing their last bite of ice cream, the four friends went to the hotel Misty was staying in, and managed to book rooms for the night. It was nice to have real beds and a roof above their heads for a change. They could surely need the extra rest, to be ready for the events that were to take place tomorrow...

My 16th fan-fiction story. I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.


	4. Chapter 4

Episode 14: Return of a Hero (part 1)

Part 1 of episode 14 in my Fan Fiction series about the Pokémon journey of Ash and Angie. Involves some MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you don't like that idea, stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.

The next day everyone got up late. Sleeping in a real bed was so nice again, that even Tracey, who would usually be the first to get out, since he wouldn't want to miss out on an opportunity to make a good drawing, needed a wake up call from no one less than Ash. After a quick breakfast, or rather brunch, they checked out off the hotel. Ash had proposed to go back to Saffron City, in case the gym would be open sooner than the sign on it had indicated. They were about to say goodbye to Misty as Tracey stepped forward.

"Ash, is it okay if Misty comes along with us to Saffron City?" he asked. "She is going back to Cerulean Town, and it would be nicer to travel together, right?"

"Nicer for all of us, or for someone in particular?" Ash teased him, as he had noticed Tracey was talking a lot about Misty to him lately. "But I agree, the more, the merrier."

And so they didn't say goodbye, but went on together, to Saffron City. Ask walked alongside Tracey, and the girls were walking in front of them, constantly talking to each other. Sometimes Ash could hear a few words like "he really did?" and then they would start to giggle, or something like "that happens to me all the time too."

"I sure would like to know what these two are babbling about," Ash said to Tracey.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Tracey answered.

As they were getting close to the open spot where they had made camp on their way to Celadon City, they heard something rustling in the bushes near the road.

"Sssshhttt!" Ash hissed to the still loudly talking girls, "I hear something..."

Everyone was suddenly quiet. The rustling became louder, there really was something there in the bushes. Then a girl came out, looking very scared. She ran up to Ash, and fell around his neck, holding him tight.

"Bianca? What are you doing here?" was all that Ash could say.

"Ash, would you care to explain why that girl is hugging you, and you even seem to know her name?" Angie said at a very jealous tone. "I mean, you're the first boy I ever kissed on the lips, and this is my reward?"

Ash freed himself from Bianca's grip, and turned all red as Angie revealed what had happened between Ash and her in Lavender town, and seeing this, Angie did the same, realizing she gave away a bit too much information here. Misty and Tracey were looking at Ash and Angie with open mouths.

"It was just an accident and it only happened once, okay!" Ash tried to defend himself.

"Oh, so that is how you think about it, mister?" Angie said, even more angry, "as I recall, you didn't object to it back then."

Bianca clung on to Ash again, as if she was getting even more afraid of Ash and Angie fighting. Ash noticed this, and looked at her.

"Not now, Angie, first we have to find out why Bianca is so frightened," he said, trying to change the subject.

"Okay, but you still owe me some explanation later," Angie assured him.

"Bianca, what is wrong? Why are you so scared?" Ash said to the trembling girl.

He looked closer into her eyes...

"Bianca? Wait a second....Latias? It is you, isn't it?" Ash said, very surprised.

The "girl" nodded as Tracey, Angie and Misty were looking at Ash and "Bianca" in disbelief.

"That girl.... is actually a... Pokémon?" Angie asked.

"That's right," Ash explained, "Latias can change the way we see her, with some sort of manipulation of light. She can even become almost invisible. Bianca is a girl that lives in Altomare, and she and Latias are close friends. So sometimes Latias disguises herself as Bianca."

"I...don't believe what I am hearing..." Tracey remarked.

"Latias, don't you think it's time to show yourself to the others?" Ash proposed.

Latias began sparkling all over, and the image of Bianca faded, to reveal the red and white, jet-like shape of the Pokémon's original form.

"Angie and Tracey, meet Latias!" Ash introduced his Pokémon friend.

"Hi Latias, great to see you in your true form," Angie greeted the Eon Pokémon. "I've read some things about you, but meeting you for real sure beats everything!"

Latias made a few happy cries, as she gave Angie a small lick in the face, noticing that she was just as friendly and kindhearted as Ash, her closest friend besides Bianca and Lorenzo. Tracey also greeted Latias, and was also accepted by her as a friend. Latias already knew Misty, so she needed no introduction. Still the question remained what this friendly Pokémon was so scared of. Suddenly they heard some more rustling in the distance. Latias immediately hid behind Ash's back, making soft cries, and shaking with fear.

"Latias, what's wrong?" Ash asked, very concerned.

"Ash, that noise, I've heard that before!" Angie yelled.

And Angie was right. All of a sudden a familiar six-wheeled vehicle came out of the bushes, stopping just in front of our friends, causing a lot of dust to blow around. When the dust settled, a familiar, but unwelcome silhouette became clearly visible.

"Hunter J.!" Ash grumbled, "how dare you come back here!"

"Well, I didn't exactly expect a warm welcome from you brats, so let's get to business," she said, "give me Latias!"

"No way!" Ash yelled, "Latias is my friend, and I'll protect her from the likes of you, even if it's the last thing I do!"

"Be careful what you ask for..." Hunter J. threatened.

"Pikachu, do Thunderbolt on that capture device on Hunter J.'s arm, like you did last time!" Ash commanded.

Ash's electrical friend hit the device with a mighty blast of electricity, but this time nothing happened.

"I've learned from our last encounter, and installed a little shielding device on it as well," Hunter J. explained, while smiling. "Now hand over Latias!"

"Never!" Ash said, as Angie, Misty and Tracey all formed a wall around the scared Eon Pokémon.

"Fine, have it your way!" Hunter J. shouted, "Salamence, come out and do Hyper Beam on those brats!"

Ash, Angie and the others were swept off their feet by the resulting explosion, and laid down scattered on the ground.

Misty and Tracey were knocked unconscious, and Ash and Pikachu were quite dazed, just like Angie and Latias. Then suddenly Ash got an idea.

"Latias, disguise yourself as Angie! That way Hunter J. won't know which one is you!" Ash shouted.

Latias performed her amazing disguise trick, and now there were two Angies, impossible to tell apart.

"Foolish kids!" Hunter J. shouted, "did you really think that is going to stop me? I'll just catch them both!"

"Noo!" Ash yelled as the Pokémon hunter was aiming for one of the Angies.

She was frozen in her tracks, and a stasis chamber came flying out off the vehicle, to take her away.

"That's number one," Hunter J. said with a vicious smile on her face, "just one more to go..."

The other Angie, Ash still couldn't tell which was the real one, tried to run away, but was also hit by the capture device. Another stasis chamber appeared, and took her inside the truck as well.

"Noooo!" Ash cried in despair, "come on Pikachu, do Thunderbolt on Salamence!"

Still not fully recovered from the blast of Salamence's Hyper Beam, Pikachu's aim was somewhat off, and his attack missed. Salamence reacted with a well aimed Flamethrower and that was too much so the brave little Pokémon fainted. Ash wanted to get up, but a strong wind pushed him back to the ground. Hunter J.'s cruiser had appeared, and was about to land.

"Okay, we've got what we came for, everyone back into the cruiser!" J. ordered. The doors closed, and the ship was about to take off.

"I can't...let it....end... this way," Ash said, having trouble speaking with all the dust from the ship's engines blowing in his face. "Angie! Latias! No!!"

He got up, and ran to the ship that was lifting off. With his last strength, he jumped up, and grabbed one of the stabilizers. The ship was gaining height fast, with Ash desperately holding on.

"We've got an unwanted passenger," the pilot of the ship reported to Hunter J.

"Aha, that kid just won't give up," she said, as she saw Ash on one of the surveillance screens. "Bring me the girl!"

Using her special infrared vision glasses, Hunter J. knew from the beginning which of the Angies was actually the real Angie and which one was Latias. But capturing them both seemed like the ultimate way to get her revenge.

"You let Latias and me go! You can't do this!" Angie yelled as the guards brought her to Hunter J.

"I already did," Hunter J. answered, "and I have a surprise for you," pointing at the surveillance screen where Ash was trying really hard not to fall off.

"Ash! Oh no!" Angie yelled, "you put this ship down now, before he gets hurt, you hear me!"

"Oh, I'll put something down," Hunter J. said with a viscious smile. "Prepare to switch on the electrical defense system on my mark."

"What are you going to do with him?" Angie asked in fear.

"Oh, let's say your boyfriend will get a real charge out of this," Hunter J. said at a tone that made a shiver go down Angie's spine. "Now!"

One of the crewmen switched on the electrical defense system, and the outside of the ship became electrically charged. Ash was used to some electricity, because of his Pikachu, that used to shock him often when they had just begun their journey together, but this was too much for him, and he had to let go.

"No! Ash!" Angie yelled as she saw him falling down.

She stomped on the foot of one of the guards, and gave the other one an elbow in the stomach, forcing both to let go of her. She ran to the window on the side where Ash had been holding on to the ship, and looked down. She noticed they were flying above the water now, and could just see Ash hit the surface with a large splash. Then the water calmed down, but she didn't see him surfacing...

Meanwhile, Pikachu had slowly regained consciousness again, and had seen it's master taking off, hanging on the side of Hunter J.'s cruiser. It quickly tried to follow them, running as fast as it could. The ship was flying in the direction of the ocean, just over the spot where Ash had almost fallen of a cliff a few days ago. Pikachu used the same path to get to the cliff, but was unable to help it's master. Then it saw Ash falling down, just like Angie did, inside the ship.

"Bring her back to the storage compartment," Hunter J. said to the guards, "and don't let her escape this time, or else!"

Angie had fallen down to her knees, crying. "If Ash even had a chance to survive this fall, then he should have come to the surface by now," she thought. "But he didn't. Is he...?" she dared not to finish that thought, but her crying revealed that she was expecting the worst. She didn't resist when the guards came to secure her, completely broken by her grief over Ash.

"Ash, you've got to be okay, you've got to!" she kept saying to herself...

(to be continued)

My 17th fan-fiction story. I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.


	5. Chapter 5

Episode 14: Return of a Hero (part 2)

Part 2 of episode 14 in my Fan Fiction series about the Pokémon journey of Ash and Angie. Involves some MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you don't like that idea, stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.

Pikachu was still standing on top of the cliff, crying as it did not see it's master come to the surface again.

"Pika....chu" it said, it's head bent down.

Then Pikachu decided to go get Ash's friends, Misty and Tracey. Maybe they could help it's master! It ran away, at full speed. But just as Pikachu had turned around, something was moving down there, in the water! Ash slowly appeared on the surface, still unconscious. But yet he was moving, seemingly driven by some invisible force, pushing it towards the shore. The "force" moved Ash on the beach, and began shaking him to bring him around. Ash gasped for breath, started coughing, and turned on his side, giving up some water from his mouth.

"Where...where am I?" Ash said with a faint voice.

He noticed he was on the beach, but the last thing he could remember was falling off Hunter J.'s ship and then a big bang as he hit the water.

"How did I get here?" he asked, as he tried to get up, but failed at first.

He tried again, but this time it seemed like something was pushing him up.

"Who is there?" Ash asked, a bit frightened.

He thought his vision was still a bit blurry, since sometimes it seemed like something was moving around him, but there was nothing there. Then again something touched him, this time poking him in the back.

"Stop that and show yourself!" Ash said, as he began to lose his patience now.

Then, right in front of him, a sparkling light appeared, that slowly changed into something blue and white...

"La...Latios...? But that's impossible. Latios! Ash cried as he fell around the neck of the blue Eon Pokémon, with tears in his eyes.

Latios answered Ash's joyful greeting with his own cries, showing Ash it was also very happy to see him again.

"But then...it was you who saved me from the water, while you were invisible" Ash realized, "thank you Latios!"

Just a little before that, Pikachu had reached the spot were Tracey and Misty were still lying, passed out. Pikachu tried to wake them by shaking them a little from side to side, but that didn't have much effect. Something needed to be done fast, so Pikachu used a little Thunderbolt on his friends. That did the trick.

"Aarrrgh, Pikachu, I'll get you for that!" Misty said angry, as she noticed her hair was now standing straight up.

"Pika...pi...chu.. pika pika!" the little Pokémon answered, pulling on Tracey's hand.

"I think it wants us to follow," Tracey said, "maybe it knows where Ash is."

"Pika...pikachu!" Ash's little friend replied, as if to say that Tracey had guessed it right.

They ran down the path to the cliff, and Pikachu pointed down, to the water.

"Ash fell... in there?" Misty asked, a bit frightened.

"I hope not," Tracey said, "but if anyone can survive this, it's probably Ash."

"Hey, Pikachu... Tracey, Misty... over here!" they heard a voice calling, that they recognized as Ash's.

"Look!" Misty said," he's down there, and he seems okay!"

"That's great!" Tracey added, "but what is that thing that is with him?"

"No....it can't be..." Misty hesitated..."it's...Latios!"

They raced down as fast as they could and joined Ash and his unusual Pokémon friend.

"Hey Pikachu, great to see you again buddy!" Ash said as the little Pokémon jumped on his shoulder.

"How did you survive that fall into the water and got safely ashore?" Misty asked.

"I've got to thank Latios for that," Ash said, "he pulled me out after I passed out, and was drowningr."

"Nice job Latios!" Tracey praised the Eon Pokémon.

"Ash, there is just one thing," Misty started, "I thought Latios was...dead. I mean, you were there too right? When it crashed into that tidal wave and disappeared, only leaving a Soul Dew."

"I... I don't know," Ash admitted, "I was just about to ask Latios when you guys showed up on top of that cliff.

Latios's eyes began to shine brightly, and Ash, Misty, Tracey, and Pikachu suddenly were enveloped in a strange sphere of light.

"Oooooh, it's Sight Sharing!" Ash said in awe.

"Sight Sharing?" Tracey asked.

"Yeah, one of Latios's special powers," Ash explained. "He can make us see things that he sees."

"Incredible!" Tracey said.

"But this is not what Latios is seeing now," Misty remarked, "I see stars, and isn't that the earth?"

"You're right," Ash answered, "maybe Latios is showing us something it has seen, to explain why he is here again."

"What is that?" Misty said, a bit scared, as the image of a large creature became visible.

"It's... Arceus!" Tracey shouted.

"A what?" Ash and Misty said at the same time.

"Arceus, the strongest Pokémon of the universe," Tracey explained, "I'm surprised you never heard of it, since it plays a large role in the legends about the creation of Sinnoh."

"I know about Palkia, Dialga and Giratina," Ash said, "but Arceus?"

"Recent discoveries have made it clear that these Pokémon, while very powerful, are probably still not the strongest in this world," Tracey continued. "There is evidence that another Pokémon, Arceus, is older and greater in powers than all those other legendary Pokémon."

"You think that Arceus has something to do with Latios being here now?" Misty asked.

"Well, it could be possible," Ash admitted, "Darkrai was also brought back by Dialga and Palkia, after it disappeared while trying to save our dimension. I guess Arceus could have done the same for Latios."

Suddenly the bright light disappeared, and everything returned to normal.

"Well, I'm very glad that Arceus brought you back, Latios," Ash said as he hugged the blue Pokémon.

"Yeah, me too," Misty added, "it was so sad when you...disappeared," as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

"Well, now all we have to do is find Latias and Angie, Tracey said, "but how?"

"Did you see where they went, Ash?" Misty asked.

"No, I was too busy trying not to fall off their ship," Ash said with disappointment in his voice.

Latios pushed against Ash's side and his eyes started to glow again.

"Ooh, of course!" Ash exclaimed, "Latios can also use Sight Sharing to make us see what Latias sees!"

At the same time, the cruiser of Hunter J. had just landed. But things were not looking so bright for Latias and Angie. Angie had been crying all the time, unsure about what had happened to Ash, and what was to become of Latias and her. Latias also had big tears in her eyes. Suddenly Latias' eyes began to glow. Angie had never seen this before, and she suddenly found herself in the forest, she saw trees. "Hey, wasn't that Misty?" she thought. "Yes it was... and Tracey...."

"Latias, can you see what Pikachu sees or so?" Angie asked.

The Eon Pokémon shook her head and kept showing Angie her vision. "Hey, that's Pikachu!" Angie thought. "But through who's eyes are we seeing this then?" she wondered. "Could it be Ash's?" Then she saw Ash as well.

"Great, Ash is alive!" she shouted.

"What's with the noise in there?" Angie heard Hunter J. calling.

The door swung open, and the ruthless hunter entered the storage compartment. Through the door Angie could look outside. She didn't recognize anything, but there was this strange needle shape rock that immediately drew her attention. Latias also looked outside, her eyes still glowing.

"Hey, are you using Sight Sharing to call in your big brother?" Hunter J. said at a reproachful tone, "cut that out now!" she yelled and activated Latias's stasis chamber again.

"Leave her alone!" Angie yelled, but since her hands were literally tied, because the guards were taking no more risks with her, she was powerless to do anything.

Quite some miles from there, Latios had been showing what his sister saw with her eyes.

"Hey, that's the storage compartment on board of Hunter J.'s cruiser!" Tracey said, as he had been there once to free the Pokémon that J. had tried to capture during their first encounter with her.

"But where is Angie?" Ash said, deeply worried.

"Look, there she is, in that corner!" Misty noticed.

"They tied her down..." Ash said, shocked, "If they have hurt her, I'll..." he grumbled.

"Keep looking guys!" Tracey interrupted Ash, "we still have no idea where they are."

They saw the door of the compartment swing open, when Hunter J. stepped in and noticed the same thin shaped rock Angie had seen. Then the vision disappeared.

"Aaaw... now we still know nothing!" Ash said all disappointed, "what happened Latios? Why did the image fade away so suddenly?"

"I know where that is!" Misty said, "my sisters and I used to go there on holiday a few times. It's about a 8 miles from here."

"Can you get us there?" Ash asked, all enthusiastic again.

"Of course," Misty said, "but it is at least some hours walking, since it is a little past Saffron City, on Route 6. Now if only we could fly there..."

"We can!" Ash said, with a smile on his face. "Tracey, you can take Scyther right? And Misty can ride my Staravia."

"But how about you then?" Tracey wondered.

"I've got the best Pokémon plane of them all, right Latios?" Ash said as he padded the Eon Pokémon on his back.

A loud cry from Latios showed that he totally agreed with Ash.

"Okay, let's go free Angie and Latias!" Ash yelled as he lifted off, sitting on Latios's Back.

The other Pokémon had trouble keeping up with Latios, since it was so fast. By the time they got there, Staravia and Scyther were both exhausted, and their owners made them return to their Poké Balls, to get some rest. They had landed just a little away from the exact location where Hunter J. would probably be, to avoid early detection. Soon they discovered the shape of the cruiser through the trees.

"There it is guys," Misty said, "but what are we going to do to get Angie and Latias?"

"Do you have your Pokémon with you, Misty?" Ash asked.

"Sorry, no," Misty apologized, "I left them to take a few days off as I went to Celadon Town. I figured they deserved a little vacation as well when their trainer was out to have fun, shopping."

"Too bad," Ash said, disappointed, "we can use all the help we can get."

"Hey, speaking of help," Misty remarked, "How about I go get Officer Jenny? If I take my folding bike, I'll be in Saffron City in no time."

"Great plan, Misty!" Tracey said, making her blush a little.

"Okay, see you soon guys," Misty said as she went off, "and Ash... in the mean time don't do anything rash, okay?"

Misty left for Saffron City, and now the waiting began, for her to return with the much needed backup. Suddenly the door of the storage compartment swung fully open again, and Hunter J. came walking out.

"How much longer before we are all fueled up again?" she asked one of the crewmen.

"About fifteen minutes," he answered.

"Not a minute longer!" Hunter J. snapped at her crew member, "I already made contact with a possible buyer for Latias and I'd like to close the deal as soon as possible."

"Roger!" was all he would dare to say back to his superior.

"Tracey, did you hear that?" Ash said, worried, "They will leave within fifteen minutes and then we may never see Angie and Latias again! I'm going in!"

"Wait Ash," Tracey said, "You'll never get there unnoticed."

"You're probably right," Ash said. "But we can't just sit here and watch them fly off again!" Ash grumbled, clenching his fists.

"We need some kind of diversion..." Tracey suggested, "But what...?"

Latios gave Ash a push in the side.

"What is it, Latios?" Ash asked, as he suddenly saw his friend become invisible. "That's it!" Ash almost yelled.

"Yeah, an invisible Pokémon can stir things up quite well, I guess," Tracey agreed, smiling.

"Go Latios!" Ash encouraged his blue friend.

Latios flew off, and started knocking over some cannisters that had contained fuel.

"Wh...what is that?" one of the crewmen yelled in panic.

"It's a ghost!" another one cried.

Tracey and Ash had to try hard not to laugh, but they had a job to do.

"You keep an eye on the situation here," Ash instructed Tracey, "while I go into that storage compartment."

Unnoticed because of all the panic Latios was causing, Ash managed to get inside the storage compartment undetected. He looked around, and saw Angie, sitting in a corner, her head bent down.

"Hey...pssst...Angie..." Ash whispered.

"Ash!" Angie almost yelled, besides herself with joy over seeing him again. "I was so scared! And they've treated Latias so badly," she said as started sobbing a little.

"It's okay..." Ash said, as he sat down on his knees in front of her and held her tight for a moment. "I'll get you and Latias out of here!"

Ash untied Angie, and gave her back the Poké Balls that she had dropped when she was taken prisoner. Then he moved the lever on the stasis chamber to free Latias. The red Eon Pokémon was also clearly very happy to see Ash and to be free again.

"Okay, okay...that's enough for now," Ash said as he had to suppress his laughter because Latias was now licking his nose to express her gratitude. "let's get out of here!"

"What is going on here?" Hunter J. shouted.

"This place is haunted!" some of her crew members yelled.

"Haunted, you say?" she said with much disbelief, as she switched on her infrared glasses and looked around. "Aha, there it is. You fools! That's no ghost, it's only Latios, possibly trying to save Latias!"

"Uh oh, busted!" Tracey whispered from his hiding place, as he saw Ash was just coming out off the door with Angie and Latias.

"Salamence, come out and do Hyper Beam on two o'clock!" Hunter J. commanded.

Latios took a direct hit, and could not maintain his invisibility.

"Do another Hyper Beam!" Hunter J. shouted, and Salamence hit Latios again, this time causing him to crash down on the ground.

"Oh! Latios!!" Ash yelled.

"Hey, what have we got here?" Hunter J. said as she turned around and saw Ash, Latias and Angie trying to get away. "Salamence, aim your Hyper Beam at them!"

"Pikachu, do Thunderbolt on Salamence! Chimchar, come out, help Pikachu with Flamethrower!" Ash quickly reacted.

"Bulbasaur, come out and do Razor Leaf and Shinx, help the others with Spark!" Angie came to Ash's aid.

This combination of attacks kept Salamence occupied for the moment, so Ash, Angie and Latias now tried to reach Latios, that was still lying on the ground.

"Send out your Golem!" Hunter J. commanded her henchmen.

"Buizel, do Water Gun," Ash said as he sent out his Water Weasel Pokémon.

"Marill, come out and help Buizel!" Tracey shouted, to provide some assistance.

Being very susceptible to water-type attacks, the Golem who were blocking their path, were quickly taken care of.

"Well, what are you standing there for!?" Hunter J. yelled at her henchmen, "grab those meddling brats!"

"Venonat, come out and do Stun Spore!" Tracey commanded, stopping J.'s men in their tracks, all paralyzed.

"Grrrrrrrrr, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself, apparently!" Hunter J. grumbled as she walked towards Ash and company. "Salamence, let's finish this!"

The Pokémon Hunter's most powerful Pokémon had already worn Pikachu, Chimchar and the others down, and with a another blast of Hyper Beam, they were knocked out.

"This is the last time you have interfered with my business, you brats!" Hunter J. threatened as she came striding towards Ash, Angie and Latias, Salamence walking beside her.

Then Ash saw something from the corner of his eye. Latios was moving! The brave Pokémon couldn't allow Hunter J. to do anything bad to his friends and his sister! Latios started to shine with a bright light all over his body, but this time it was different from the light Ash had seen when he would become invisible. "Wait a second... isn't that Latios's special attack...Luster Purge?" he thought. Latios lifted up from the ground, and suddenly went heading straight for Hunter J. and Salamence at high speed.

"Get down, everyone!" Ash yelled to Angie and Latias.

Hunter J. already had a feeling something was happening behind her, and got down as well, managing to dodge Latios. Instead his attack made full impact on her cruiser, blasting a large hole in the side of it. Hunter J. got up again and saw the devastation Latios had caused to her ship. Ash and his friends also stood up from the ground, and saw Latios lying on the ground near the heavily damaged cruiser, motionless.

"Latios! No!!" Ash yelled as they ran towards the probably injured Pokémon.

"Okay, that does it!" Hunter J. shouted, "we'll end this here!! Salamence do Hyper Beam, full po..."

Ash and Angie had already closed their eyes, bracing themselves for the impact while holding on to each other and using their bodies as a shield for Latios and Latias. But nothing happened, and then they heard two loud "bumps", like something fell down on the ground. They opened their eyes again, and there lay Hunter J. and Salamence, all wrapped up like mummies!

"Nice job, Spinarak!" they heard a familiar voice say.

"Officer Jenny!" Ash and Angie said simultaneously.

"Well, it seems like we came just in time," the friendly Police Officer said, "Nobody got hurt?"

"We're fine, but Latios is hurt! I don't know... how bad it is..." Ash said, with tears in his voice.

"He's still breathing, Ash!" Angie said, "I think he's just stunned from the impact. Tracey, did you bring my backpack?"

"Here it is, Angie!" Tracey said, as he gave it to her.

"There, a little Hyper Potion...," Angie said as she treated the injured Pokémon.

Then, slowly, Latios opened his eyes again, and was able to get up.

"Oh Latios! You're fine!" Ash said, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "Thanks Ange, you're the best!" he praised her, while giving her a big kiss on the cheek.

"Gee, thanks, Ash," she said, clearly blushing, "glad I could help."

Latias joined her brother, but first kept a little distance, like she couldn't believe he has really come back, even though the Sight Sharing they had performed, and that had led Ash to Latias, would never have been possible at all without her brother being alive. Then, when she was fully convinced it was okay, she started to play with Latios, like he had never been away.

"Those Spinarak sure came in handy, Officer Jenny," Tracey remarked.

"Yes, they certainly do," Jenny answered, "my niece in Catallia City has used them for some time now, and I thought it was a good idea to experiment with them here as well.

"Well, that experiment is sure a big success," Ash said.

Misty joined her friends, and Ash and Tracey thanked her for getting Officer Jenny here just in time. Hunter J. and her crewmembers were taken away, to stand trial for all the mayhem they had caused. The police took off with them, and our friends were now all by themselves again. Angie checked out Pikachu and the other exhausted Pokémon, to make sure they would be fine.

"Now I am still a bit puzzled," Misty started, "why did Arceus send Latios here in the first place?"

"I think we'll never know," Ash said, "maybe it just felt it wasn't right for Latias to be alone, and have no friends around besides Bianca and Lorenzo."

"Or it saw that Latias and Ash needed help," Angie explained.

"Well, whatever the reason may be, thanks Arceus!" Ash shouted upwards.

Latios and Latias stopped playing and came to Ash, both looking a bit sad.

"I know, you have to get back now, right?" Ash said, also a bit sad because he knew he had to say goodbye now. "Alto Mare needs her two guardians. You two just take good care of yourself and say hi to Bianca and Lorenzo for us, okay?"

"At least they won't have to be afraid of that Hunter J. again," Angie said, relieved.

Ash hugged Latios and Latias one more time, and then the reunited brave Pokémon Heroes took off, with incredible speed, leaving our other heroes behind, waving at them. Tomorrow they would go to Saffron City, to face completely different, but also exciting new challenges.

My 18th fan-fiction story. I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.


	6. Chapter 6

Episode 15: To Gym or not to Gym

Episode 15 in my Fan Fiction series about the Pokémon journey of Ash and Angie. Involves some MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you don't like that idea, stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.

After all the excitement of yesterday, like the encounter with Latias, the reunion with Latios, and their confrontation with Hunter J. everyone had agree not to travel on to Saffron City immediately, but to take a break and make camp somewhere along Route 6. Misty, however, had to go back to Cerulean City, because she had gotten a message that there was some trouble at the gym, so she had left on her bike to Saffron City that same day. Tracey wasn't too happy about this, but Ash promised him they would make a stop at the Cerulean Gym if they came through that City on their way north again. The next morning the sun was shining bright, as Ash came out of his tent.

"Hello Pikachu," he greeted his trusty Pokémon, "are you ready to earn our third badge today, buddy?"

"Pikachu!" was the answer.

"Hi, Ash," Angie greeted him, "you are really looking forward to your next battle, I see."

"You bet!" he said, "I feel like we've never been more ready for it!"

"Well, why don't you start your winning streak with a good breakfast?" Angie proposed, "I made a little something for my champion.

"Gee thanks," Ash said, blushing a little because of this praise, and the way Angie was looking at him.

"I heard someone talking of breakfast?" Tracey suddenly interrupted this moment, "is there something for me as well, or do I have to wear a cap and get myself a Pikachu first?"

Everyone laughed, and then the sat down to eat. After breaking down the tents and putting them away, Ash, Angie and Tracey headed for Saffron City. About a mile further, as they were getting close to the perimeter of the town, Tracey suddenly noticed something. There was an old shed, next to the road, with a large banner applied above the big doors. "Saffron City Gym" it read.

"That's strange," Ash wondered, "I thought the gym was in town, not outside it."

"Maybe it's a temporary location, so challengers won't have to wait that long," Tracey suggested.

"Hello!" a woman called them, waving in front of the gym, "are you Pokémon trainers?"

"Yes we are!" Ash shouted back.

"Fantastic!" the unknown woman answered, "you are probably here to challenge the Saffron City Gym, right?"

"Yeah!" Ash said enthusiastically, "we were in Saffron City some days ago, but then the Gym was still closed because of some building activity going on."

"Is that why the Gym is now here?" Angie asked.

"That's right, little tw... girl," the woman answered. "There has been some delay with getting the Gym ready again, so it was decided to set up a temporary Gym at another location."

"Great!" Ash said, "so I can challenge the Gym leader now?"

"Sure you can," the woman answered, "just follow me."

As they entered through the old doors, it immediately became apparent that this building had seen better days.

"What a dump," Ash whispered to Angie.

"Maybe it's the best they could find on such short notice," she tried to explain this, although she also felt a bit uncomfortable at what she saw.

A man with a Mime Jr. approached them.

"This is Ja... eh...Jeremiah, the caretaker of the Gym and his trusty aide, Mime Jr," the woman introduced them. "And my name is Je.. eh... Jeanette. I will be your host during your presence here."

"Please hand over your Poké Balls before entering the Battle Arena," Jeremiah stated, while Mime Jr. also held up his hand, saying "Mime mime mime!" ready to receive the requested items.

"Our Poké Balls?" Ash said surprised, "what is that for?"

"Ooh... that is because the Gym Leader is easily distracted by sudden sounds," Jeanette explained, sounding slightly nervous, "so if you take your Poké Balls with you and one of them would suddenly pop open and a Pokémon would come out if it during the battle, that might mean big trouble."

"Seems like she is just as jumpy as that Gym Leader," Angie whispered in Ash's ear.

Ash, Tracey and Angie handed over their Poké Balls, as requested, and Jeremiah and Mime Jr. quickly walked off with them, to put them in a safe place, Jeremiah explained.

"Hey, what is that Pikachu still doing out off it's Poké Ball?" Jeanette asked, "and that Shinx?"

"Pikachu is the Pokémon I want to use in this battle," Ash said.

"Oh...okay, that's right, you need a Pokémon to battle for you of course, silly me," Jeanette excused herself.

"And Shinx wants to watch Pikachu battle, and perhaps cheer for it and Ash a little as well," Angie explained.

"Oh, nononononono, that's impossible," Jeannette said, "such sounds will surely have a bad influence on the Gym Leader's concentration."

"But Shinx really wants to see the Battle, to learn from it,"Angie added.

"Shinx?" Angie's Pokémon said at a confused tone.

"Wait a second," Jeanette said and rushed towards Jeremiah, and they started whispering for a moment.

"Is everything okay?"Ash asked.

"Yes, I'll be right back!" Jeanette shouted while waving with her arms wildly.

"This sure is a strange Gym," Ash whispered to his two friends.

"Well, there is a way..." Jeannette said as she came running back to Ash, "there is a small room on the side of the Battle Field, that has a window. If that Shinx goes in there, it can see everything, but it can't be heard and distract the Gym Leader that way."

"If that is really necessary..." Angie said, a little disappointed, "I'm sorry Pikachu... Ash, you'll have to do without Shinx's cheering this time."

"Don't worry Angie," Ash comforted her, next time it will be different.

"Well, alright," she gave in, "Shinx, behave while you're alone in there, okay?"

"Shinx shinx!" the little Pokémon answered to indicate it had understood Angie's words.

"Now you go along with Jeremiah," Jeannette said to Shinx, and to Angie, "he'll take your Pokémon to that special room and makes sure it is comfortable."

Shinx walked along with Jeremiah, and they went inside the room. Angie saw it's face appear behind the window, just as Jeannette had told. The Battle Arena was just as primitive as the rest of the Gym. The lines on the ground were clearly drawn by hand, and were far from perfect. But at least Ash had a chance to battle now. On the other side of the field, a small person was standing, cloaked in a large cape, covering his entire body and even his face.

"Is that... the Gym Leader?" Tracey asked.

"I thought Sabrina was a lot taller," Ash wondered.

"Oh... well ... yes," Jeanette stuttered nervously, "that's because this Gym Leader is a substitute while the regular Gym Leader is watching over the rebuilding of the Gym in town."

Jeremiah came out off the room again, where it had left Shinx, to be the referee for this match. He walked to the middle of the arena, and Jeanette joined him.

"Trainers ready?" Jeremiah called.

"Ready!" Ash said with much confidence.

"Okay, here we go!" Jeremiah said.

"To protect the world from devastation," Jeanette said.

"To unite all peoples within our nation", Jeremiah continued.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love," Jeanette spoke again.

"To extend our reach to the stars above," Jeremiah added

"Jessie," Jeanette said.

"...and James..." Jeremiah stated.

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light," Jeanette continued

"Surrender now or prepare to fight," Jeremiah said.

"Meowth! That's right!" the Gym Leader standing at the other side of the field finished it.

"Why are you using Team Rocket's motto?" Ash said, very surprised.

"Well...because....we are Team Rocket!" Jeanette said out loud.

The "Gym Leader threw off his large cape, and Meowth appeared! Jessie and James also removed their disguises, revealing their true selves.

"Team Rocket!" Ash, Angie and Tracey said simultaneously.

"I knew there was something fishy about this gym," Angie remarked.

"Fishy? Are you referring to my new perfume?" Jessie said really annoyed.

"Say goodbye to Pikachu and Shinx!" Meowth shouted, as he pushed on a button of a remote control he was now holding.

The wall on the side where the "special room" was located, fell over, revealing a smaller box, that had now become a prison for Shinx. A huge claw came inside, grabbed Pikachu, dropped it into the box with Shinx, and closed the lid on the box. ThenJessie, James and Meowth ran outside, and before our friends could catch up with them, they saw the box with Pikachu and Shinx get lifted up in the air, tied to the infamous Team Rocket balloon that was hanging above.

"Give out Pokémon back!" Ash yelled, "Pikachu, do Thunderbolt!"

"I want my Shinx back!" Angie also shouted, "Shinx, do Spark!"

Both attacks had no effect however.

"This time we made sure our cage could withstand the attacks of two electric Pokémon," Jessie laughed.

"Does this mean we have now earned a badge?" James asked?

"Yeah, the we've-caught-all-the-Pokémon-of-the-twerps-badge!" Meowth answered, and now all three villains laughed.

"I guess this means the Gym Leader wins and the challenger loses..." Jessie shouted.

"Grrrrrrrrr," Ash gritted his teeth, "how could I be so stupid to give them all my Poké Balls?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Ash," Angie comforted him, "I gave them mine as well, even though I didn't trust this Gym fully from the moment we sat foot in it."

"And I didn't trust them completely as well," Tracey added, "so I kept one Poké Ball behind, just in case."

"Tracey, you are a genius!" Ash said as he gave his friend a rather hard pad on the back.

"What Pokémon do you have here then?" Angie asked.

"Scyther, come out!" Tracey said, to answer her question.

"Great!" Ash said, "now we have to move quickly before they are too far away!"

"Scyther, fly up and open that cage with Slash!" Tracey commanded.

"Hey Jessie, why is that Scyther coming our way?" James asked

"I don't know, but he doesn't look too happy!" Jessie yelled.

"Scytherrrrr!" Tracey's winged Pokémon cried as it smashed one side of the cage to smithereens.

Pikachu and Shinx jumped out, and were caught by their respective trainers.

"Scyther, do X-scissor on their balloon!" Tracey commanded.

"Mummy!" James and Jessie cried, as they held each other tight.

Team Rocket's balloon was thrashed, and the basket with Jessie, James and Meowth crashed down on the ground. A little box fell out, and as it hit the ground, sprang open, scattering Poké Balls all around. Ash, Angie and Tracey quickly ran towards it and took their stolen Pokémon back.

"Now, Team Rocket, I believe you wanted a real battle, right?" Ash said, "shall we make it three versus three, guys?' he asked Angie and Tracey.

"I'm with you Ash!" Angie stated as she came standing right beside him.

"Count me in as well," Tracey said as he took position on Ash's other side.

"Trainers, ready? Ash called like he was the referee this time.

"Noooohooo!" Team Rocket cried, still somewhat dazed from their sudden fall.

"Go!" Ash shouted, "Now Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Bulbasaur, do Solar Beam," Angie said.

"Marill, do Hydro Pump! Tracey commanded.

The three strong attacks hit Team Rocket at the same time, which caused a big explosion, that hurled them up high in the air.

"Well, I guess we're not so good at being fake Gym Leaders," James lamented.

"Maybe next time we should try to be real Gym Leaders instead then," Meowth suggested.

"But for now, we are blasting off again!" they all cried simultaneously.

"So, that was our portion of Team Rocket for today," Angie said.

"Well, I hope you don't mind I don't want a refill of that," Ash answered, laughing.

Angie began to laugh also, and soon they were all laughing together.

"Still want to try and challenge the real Saffron Gym today, Ash?" Tracey asked.

"I think we'd better just try and get to Saffron City before dark, and get some rest first," Angie suggested.

"Well....yeah...I think you are right," Ash reluctantly admitted.

And so they went on in the direction of Saffron City, hoping to reach it and find a place to stay, before the dark would set in. Then Ash and his Pokémon would be fully fit to take on the real Gym, but that would have to wait till tomorrow.

My 19th fan-fiction story already. I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.


	7. Chapter 7

Episode 16: If at Third You Don't Succeed

Episode 16 in my Fan Fiction series about the Pokémon journey of Ash and Angie. Involves some MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you don't like that idea, stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.

Ash and his friends had arrived in Saffron City, again. This time Tracey and Angie didn't ask Ash if he wanted to go to the gym first, they knew he was thinking about nothing else now. And after first finding the gym was closed some days ago, and the encounter with the fake gym yesterday, no one could blame Ash for going straight for his target.

"Wait up, Ash!" Angie shouted, as she was barely able to keep up with him, just like Tracey.

Ash raced around the corner, and Angie did the same, some seconds later, only to bump into him.

"Awww!" Angie said, "that's going to be a bruise, mister! What are you stopping in the middle of the pavement for!?"

"Sorry,"Ash said almost automatically, like he wasn't fully aware of how mad Angie was.

"Is that all you can say?" Angie said, as she noticed that Ash's apology was not very sincere, "I'll remember that if I ever accidentally hurt you someday. And are you going to tell me now why you stopped running all of a sudden?"

"Just look at the sign...," Ash said, a little depressed.

Angie started to worry a little. She felt something was wrong, "Ash wasn't being indifferent at me getting hurt a few moments ago, there was more, but what?" she thought. So she looked at the sign like Ash had told her. It read "Gym closed until further notice." That was sure different from the text that was on the gym's front when they visited Saffron City earlier, stating at that time that repairs would take only about a week.

"Oh Ash, I'm so sorry for you," Angie said with a comforting voice, "I know how much you wanted to battle here..."

"Hey! What are you still doing here outside?" Tracey asked, as he just caught up with Ash and Angie, "I thought nothing could stop you from getting a battle here today, judging on the way you raced to here."

"The gym is still closed," Angie explained, "and now there isn't even an indication how long it may take before it opens again."

Ash was still very quiet, so Angie put her arm around him, for extra support and Pikachu jumped on Ash's head. Tracey noticed someone walking next to the side of the gym, and approached him.

"Hello, are you working at this gym?" Tracey asked.

"Well, yes, I am the caretaker of this magnificent building," the man answered, "although it is not quite so magnificent at the moment..."

"What is wrong with it then?" Tracey asked.

"Well, about a week ago, work began on some scheduled maintenance on the structure of the building," the caretaker explained. "This was supposed to take no more than a week."

"Yeah, we noticed the sign some days ago," Tracey mentioned.

"But during that maintenance, we discovered some large cracks in the pillars that support the roof," the caretaker continued. "These were probably formed when the volcano on Cinnabar Island erupted, causing an earthquake in this region. There seemed to be no real damage at that time, but some hairline cracks must have formed then, and as time passed, have now become large enough to affect the safety of the building.

"Oh, that doesn't look good indeed," Tracey agreed.

"So to safely repair, or maybe even replace the damaged pillars, may take a while, and that is why the gym will be closed for quite a long period, I'm afraid," the caretaker concluded his story.

Angie noticed how Ash's face was getting more sad with every word the caretaker said.

"Is Sabrina still in town?" Angie asked, "maybe my friend can challenge her then after all?"

"That would be difficult," the caretaker answered, "when Sabrina heard the gym would be closed for a longer period of time than we had first anticipated, she decided to go to Mount Moon for some intense training. I haven't heard from her since then, so I don't know where she is precisely."

Angie saw that Ash had now drawn his cap over his eyes to avoid having to show his emotions any further, emotions that were ranging from rage to extreme sadness at this new disappointment.

"Just my luck," Ash tried to say at an indifferent tone, but Angie and even Tracey could hear in Ash's voice that he was deeply affected by this recent setback. Angie tried to cheer him up, but she couldn't get through to him. Pikachu even tried it's mime-act, doing impressions of other Pokémon, like it had done with much success at the Pokémon Cosplay contest in Sinnoh, but that didn't bring a smile to Ash's face. "Come on Ash, snap out off it!" Angie thought, "now what can I do to make him smile again...? Hey...that may just be it..."

"Hey guys, I need to do a few things," Angie said to Ash and Tracey, "Can you check in the mean time if we still have enough supplies with us for our journey? And when you're finished with that, meet me at the Pokémon Center, okay?

"Huh? Okay..." was all that Ash could say.

"I'll make sure we both get there," Tracey said, to assure Angie he would take care of Ash.

Angie raced off, and Tracey managed to get Ash to accompany him to the Poké Mart. After they had stocked up their supplies, they went to the Poké Center, where they found Angie busy making a phone call. They could just overhear her last words.

"Okay, Liza, thanks for your help! It means a lot to me. Bye now!" Angie said.

"Hey, I know a Liza as well," Ash remarked, startling Angie, "but I believe I've already told you about her, so this must be a different Liza then."

"Eh, well...are you guys back so soon?" Angie replied slightly nervous, "I'm not ready yet. Oh, look at the time, don't you think you should get some lunch? Better be going then..." Angie continued, as she started to push Ash and Tracey in the direction of the door.

"Yeah, yeah, we're going already," Ash said a bit irritated.

"Don't you want something to eat, Angie?" Tracey asked.

"Just bring a few sandwiches for me," she replied, "Ash knows what kind I like best. Bye!"

"Do you have any idea what's gotten into her?" Ash asked Tracey with a clueless expression on his face.

"I'm sorry Ash, but she didn't tell me anything either," Tracey replied.

"Girls..." Ash muttered, as they went to have lunch and get Angie the sandwiches she "ordered".

After lunch, Ash felt a little better, but he was still not looking like his usual self. He and Tracey went back to the Pokémon Center, where they found Angie standing at the desk, as Nurse Joy handed her over a Poké Ball.

"It's highly unusual, but here you are," they heard Nurse Joy say to Angie.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Angie replied, "I don't know what we should do without you."

"Well, it my duty to help, so I am glad to have been of any assistance," Nurse Joy said, blushing at all this praise.

"Anyone care to explain what the meaning of all this secrecy is?" Ash said, "oh and here are your sandwiches," he added, and he gave them to Angie.

"Well, you're about to find out," Angie said, "but first..." and she began devouring the sandwiches at a speed that was only equaled by Ash's appetite.

"Fine, take your time," Ash said annoyed, "a few more minutes don't make a big difference now any more."

For a moment Angie gave him an angry look, but she could restrain herself from saying anything about Ash's impatient remark. "It would ruin the surprise if I start a fight about this now," she thought, "and I must forget he is not his usual self at the moment." After the last bite Angie came standing right in front of Ash.

"So, you were wondering what I've been doing, right?" she asked Ash.

"Yeah, it's about time you told us what you're up to," Ash replied.

"Well, when we were in Cerulean City, I noticed a lake at the north side of the city," Angie continued, "You know, where that bridge is? It is not really a lake, since it is connected to the sea further to the east, but I called Misty and she confirmed that part of this open water is reserved for trips with pedalos, you know, those boats that use pedals to move through the water?"

"Well, go on..." Ash said as he listened carefully.

"I've made reservations for the three of us, and Misty agreed to come too," Angie explained, "so you mister," she said as she pulled Ash's cap down over his eyes a little to tease him, "...are going on a trip in a pedalo with me this afternoon, to take your mind of what happened this morning, and get some of that spirit of yours back."

"Eeh, water? I think I'll pass," Ash said hesitatingly, after having not such good experiences with water lately, after falling of Hunter J. cruiser and landing into the ocean.

"Ahh, come on, it will be fun," Angie said, as she put on her begging eyes, "do it for Misty and Tracey then. It will be just like that trip on the lake during Summer Camp. Please say yes, okay? For me...?" Angie said, as she made here face look even more begging by opening her eyes a little more.

"Oh... alright then," Ash gave in.

"Great!" Angie shouted as she fell around his neck.

But how are we going to get there?" Tracey asked. "It is about a day on foot, if you have no delay and walk pretty fast."

Angie let go off Ash, and took a Poké Ball from her backpack, then looked at Ash again.

"That's why I called that Liza of yours," Angie said, "to get you this!" and she held the Poké Ball up high.

"You mean...?" Ash asked, starting to realize a bit who might be in that Poké Ball.

"That's right, I've asked her so send Charizard to the nearest Pokémon Center," Angie answered Ash's unspoken question, "and from that Pokémon Center, his Poké Ball was transferred to here, so that is why you two saw me talking with Nurse Joy about," Angie finished her explanation.

"And since Angie is not Charizard's trainer, that is why I mentioned earlier it is highly unusual to do this," Nurse Joy added, "but Angie explained that it would ruin the surprise if I had first called Ash to ask his permission for the transfer, like protocol requires."

"Great!" Ash yelled, looking forward to seeing his fiery friend again, "let's go outside, so Charizard can come out of his Poké Ball.

So they went outside, and made Charizard appear. Ash was really glad to see his old buddy. "It seems to work already," Angie thought, "and we aren't even on the lake yet." The three friends climbed on Charizard's back, and the powerful Pokémon flew them to the lake with ease, where Misty was already waiting for them. She also greeted Charizard and then Ash put him back into his Poké Ball, to get some well deserved rest.

"I guess you and Angie will take one pedalo, so Tracey and me will take the other," Misty suggested.

"Good idea!" Tracey said, being very quick to agree with this proposal.

The pedalo Ash and Angie got, had the shape of a Lapras, whereas the one that Tracey and Misty took off in, was modeled after a Horsea. They pedaled slowly away from the shore, and when they were more or less in the middle of the lake, Angie suddenly stopped pedaling.

"Hey! Don't let me do all the hard work," Ash said.

"Just put a sock in it," Angie answered, and then at a more friendly tone, "just look around, and listen..."

Ash grumbled, but took her advice, and looked around, while making no sound. Everywhere he could see, there were all kinds of Pokémon, Seel, Psyduck, Goldeen and Azumarill.

"Look! A Squirtle!" Ash suddenly shouted, "did I tell you I have a Squirtle too?" he asked Angie.

"That's cool!" Angie replied, "I'd like to meet it someday."

"You were right Angie, it is just like that trip on the lake, at Summer Camp," Ash said," I'm glad you went to all this trouble to arrange this for me," as he gave her a short kiss on the cheek.

Angie was already glad to see her "therapy" was working, but Ash kissing her to thank her was a nice bonus. Suddenly a playful Spheal appeared, that jumped out off the water just in front of Ash and Angie.

"Look out!" Ash and Angie both yelled, as they instinctively held on to each other to be prepared for the large wave the Spheal would certainly make when it would fall back into the water again.

Their pedalo was rocked roughly from side to side as the Spheal splashed down, and even though Ash and Angie were holding each other rather tight, they could not prevent their heads touching each other, softly... right at their mouths! Ash felt his lips touching Angie's, and wanted to pull back, but he seemed paralyzed, in a pleasant way that was. Angie was also a bit shocked at first at this sudden kiss, and her first reaction was also to break the contact, but just like Ash she couldn't. For a moment they forgot everything around them, only aware of the strange sensation of this moment.

"Pika?" Ash's little friend uttered, not understanding what his master and Angie were doing.

It made Ash and Angie realize they were actually kissing each other, on the lips, in public on this lake, and maybe while others were watching them, like perhaps even Tracey and Misty. They both sat up straight again, staring at each other for a moment.

"Are you... okay?" Ash was the first to break the silence.

"Yeah, I'm...fine," Angie replied.

Then both started blushing heavily. "That felt really special" Ash thought and Angie also had liked what had happened. "Thanks Spheal!" Ash and Angie thought at the same time, without speaking out their thoughts to each other.

"Hey guys, you're falling behind! Something wrong with your pedalo?" Tracey shouted.

"Or is Ash getting tired already?" Misty yelled, at a teasing tone.

"Why...! We'll show them who's tired, right Angie?" Ash reacted.

"You bet!" Angie answered, and they both started pedaling at high speed.

So after a really bad start of this day, Ash finally regained his fiery spirit again, on this lake, and maybe found even more than that...

My 20th fan-fiction story already. I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.


End file.
